Tag: 1970s

I finally finished something!

Style 3349, 1971

I bought this sewing pattern for the grand total of £2 in my local Sue Ryder charity shop, although the general consensus of the internet was that I’d overpaid. Charming! A few weeks ago – or is it actually months now? – I started making the 1970s smock-style overdress, and was distracted half way through by other things.

All it needed was the top stitching and the buttonholes, which I’d been putting off because making them by hand (oh, and doing the hemming by hand too) was going to take so long. In the end I bit the bullet and risked making the buttonholes on my notoriously uncooperative sewing machine. They’re not perfect, but they’re lot better (and involved a lot less swearing) than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise!

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Unfortunately this is the best picture I could get of me wearing it. This house is so dark, the mirror’s propped up in my sock drawer because there’s nowhere to actually hang it on a wall… and I’ve found out today that we’re not going to be building the beautiful new sewing room that we’ve been planning for the year since we moved in here, because the quote from the architect was rather a lot more money than we can afford. So, until the clocks change again and we start getting a bit more daylight into the house, crappy pictures of sewing (or Instagram filters) it is!

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This is my newest old pattern (dating from 1955), and I bought it specifically for view 3, the short one at the top. When I unfolded the pattern pieces I was amused to note that it’s not actually mid-thigh length, as shown in the illustration, it actually reaches almost to my knees. But that’s what I want – something to wear over my many pairs of coloured trousers, that’s a bit smarter than a t-shirt. (Whether my colleagues will consider the 1970s smock top an improvement over a t-shirt remains to be seen, in fact I’m a bit nervous about wearing it, but it’s rather a waste of time and fabric if I don’t!)

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The pattern only gives fabric requirements for non-directional prints, so I had to work out the yardage that I’d need for a fabric which can only go one way up. Because the skirt is made up of six very wide gores, the answer turned out to be A LOT! Five yards for a knee-length dress, in fact! I didn’t have enough of the fabric I’d had in mind (I suspect that will now become another 1970s smock), so I’ve started it off in a lovely organic cotton check. I’m currently deciding whether it needs a contrast trim (collar, cuffs, pocket yoke and tie belt), or whether it would be better in just the one fabric. In fact, as I haven’t actually traced the skirt pieces yet, I’m wondering whether to make the most of having quite a lot of this cotton, and actually making the calf-length version instead. I’m leaving the bodice on the dress form while I have a bit of a think about it.

Given my current sewing speed, you’ll probably see it again next year!

A quiet month

1970s dress

Oh dear, I do seem to have got out of the habit of blogging again lately. I’ve just been feeling a bit… quiet. Which anybody who knows me will be aware, isn’t very much like me at all. I’m somewhat lacking in creative inspiration, and I’m feeling a bit fed up about it, and not really sure quite what to do with myself.

Still, the odd bit of making is happening. This is the result of Butterick 4736, the 1970s dress pattern I mentioned last time. I’ve been wearing it quite a lot, and it’s really comfortable. One person did ask me whether it was vintage or reproduction (both, I guess?), thanks to the enormous collars, but I have to admit I rather like them.

1970s Butterick 4376

I made the shorter length which, being a not-very-tall person, is pretty much spot on. I keep half wondering whether I could cut it off at hip level to make a blouse, but I’m not quite sure that would work. I need to dig out a piece of fabric that’s not quite long enough to make a whole dress, and see how it comes out.

1960s Sew Knit N Stretch 228

I have also made this bra slip, and against all odds it fitted perfectly! Straight out of the packet! While I was rummaging around in the sewing room I found a forgotten bra-making kit, which had just enough fabric and elastic to make the top half. A quick dash to the fabric shop later (the princely sum of £2.14 having exchanged hands) and I had a metre and a half each of polyester habutae and nylon lace to make the bottom half. It’s the perfect length to go underneath the 1970s dress, and now that I’ve established the fit I can make more in some nicer fabrics. I’m thinking stretch silk, and maybe some soft jersey versions to wear as vests.

fleece jacket

Oh, and then there’s this. Inspired by a knitting pattern I saw on Etsy, where the collar folds back to make pockets, I put together this fleecy jacket. It looks a bit too much like a dressing gown in this spotty fleece, but once I’ve ironed out some technical hitches (I made a mistake on one of the lining pieces, so it doesn’t fit together quite right) I can feel quite a few versions of this one coming on too. It has wide kimono sleeves, which means that the sleeves of my dresses will actually fit down it – currently a problem, as all of my existing cardigans were bought or made to go over t-shirts!

Sew-Knit-N-Stretch 206, 1969

And then, to add to my increasingly glamorous collection of old-fashioned underthings, there’s this. Currently on its way to me from the US, it’s a 1969 pattern for a long-leg panty girdle “with crotch piece”. This is important, as the opposite of “with crotch piece” is not “crotchless”, it is in fact “with a godawful seam in a terrible place”. Which is why I don’t wear ordinary cycling shorts underneath my dresses. So uncomfortable! These shorts can be made from a variety of materials, depending on how restrictive you want them to be. I’m aiming more for comfort than shapewear, so I’m thinking about cotton jersey, and maybe just the faintest whiff of lycra for the front panel. I’m quite interested to see the instructions for these, as the directions for the bra slip were quite minimal. I’m hoping this one’s a bit more thorough.

I think I’m finally starting to get somewhere with my new-old wardrobe though. I’m still very tempted by beautiful 1950s dresses, but it’s looking very much as though the 1970s are actually much more me!

Simplicity 5310

Simplicity 5310

This is Simplicity 5310, a blouse from 1972.

Skycarrots gave me the pattern a long time ago, and I’ve always liked the blouse, but my sewing machine hates making buttonholes. I’ve finally got around to making a version that doesn’t have buttons all the way up the front, and I’ll just put poppers on the collar and cuffs. Next I need to decide whether I’m going to make the super-long 1970s collar, or whether I’m going to make it a bit rounder or smaller.

I really like the basic shell of the blouse though, and I can’t wait to see what those enormous sleeves look like when they’re gathered into the cuffs!

Young Designer – Mary Quant

Mary Quant - Butterick 5912

During the 1960s, the big pattern companies enlisted the help of the hottest young designers to bring the latest fashions to their catalogues. This is Butterick 5912, designed by Mary Quant, whose patterns were licensed by Butterick well into the 1970s. I have a sneaking suspicion that this design is about as old as me.

I’ve been on a mission to track down a copy of this pattern in a size that I could actually wear. Unfortunately it looks as though it was only manufactured up to a size 14. Sadly, because of the way clothing sizes have changed over the years, I haven’t got a hope of fitting into a 1970s size 14 dress pattern.

I suppose the thing to do now is to look for a modern pattern for a short princess-seamed dress, then re-draft the top so that I can add a collar. This one from New Look would probably do the trick.

Mind you, I should probably have a rummage through my own pattern collection first. There must be something suitable in there somewhere!

Diane’s second tunic dress

Diane's 2nd 1970s tunic

This is the second dress I’ve made for Diane, using recycled 1970s print bedding. (The first one is here.) This one’s a very pretty, girly design with plenty of hearts and flowers. It’s made from half of a duvet cover, and Diane’s kept the other half to turn into a quilt.

If you’d like to order a pretty tunic dress, the sizes are here, and the prices are here.

There’s also one on Etsy, and I’ll be making more over the next few weeks!